TODAY'S FORBIDDEN FRUIT
La Fruta Prohibida de Hoy
By
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Sunday, May 31, 2015
There is something about being human that makes us want to do things we are not supposed to do or take things that don't belong to us. [Photographer: Peter Alexander Robb. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
There is something in the way we humans are made that makes us want to do the thing we are not supposed to do. It started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when God provided many fruit trees from which the couple could eat but planted only one tree from which they were kept. The fruit of that one tree became the most desirable one in the Garden for them.
That desire to have forbidden things still remains with us today. The ability to resist such desires demonstrates that a person is grown up and mature. Not all adults are mature but some teenagers, and even some children, show maturity in the way they behave. Maturity isn't necessarily part of aging.
I remember that when I first met my husband, I thought he was several years older than he actually was because he acted mature in his concern for others. He thought more about the feelings and needs of other people than he did about what he wanted. That showed the strength of his faith as well as his maturity.
The apostle Paul wrote to his young helper, Timothy, on this subject. Paul had left Timothy to teach people that were older than Timothy because Paul believed that Timothy had the maturity to do so. Although Paul knew that some of the people might not listen to Timothy because he was young, Timothy had shown the strength of his faith through his behavior.
For that reason, Paul wrote to Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12 New International Version) Paul knew that if Timothy lied, stole things, or otherwise behaved badly, no one would listen to him. They wouldn't trust him. Therefore, Paul told Timothy to show his faith in Jesus through the way he acted.
I first became aware of this verse when I was a teenager and struggling with the difference between what I was learning at church and the behavior of friends at school. All young people struggle with such differences. Some give into temptation while others don't. Those that resist temptation show that they are more grown up and more mature than their friends.
James 4:7 addresses this when it says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (King James Version) When we want to do things that are not good for us or not right, that desire is from the devil.
Thankfully, the Bible tells us that when we have done wrong, we can ask God for forgiveness. That means that we tell Him in prayer that we are sorry for what we have done and promise not to act that way again.
Ephesians 4:14-15 advises, "14) We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15) But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (New Revised Standard Version)
When we act like we are grown up and respect the rights and possessions of others, then we gain their respect for us. Isn't that what we all want?
BIBLE VERSES FOR THIS POSTING
1 Timothy 4:12 - Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. (New International Version)
1 Timoteo 4:12 - Evita que te desprecien por ser joven; más bien debes ser un ejemplo para los creyentes en tu modo de hablar y de portarte, y en amor, fe y pureza de vida. (Dios Habla Hoy)
James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (King James Version)
Santiago 4:7 - Sométanse, pues, a Dios. Resistan al diablo, y éste huirá de ustedes. (Dios Habla Hoy)
Ephesians 4:14-15 - 14) We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15) But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. (New Revised Standard Version)
Efesios 4:14-15 - 14) Ya no seremos como niños, que cambian fácilmente de parecer y que son arrastrados por el viento de cualquier nueva enseñanza hasta dejarse engañar por gente astuta que anda por caminos equivocados. 15) Más bien, profesando la verdad en el amor, debemos crecer en todo hacia Cristo, que es la cabeza del cuerpo. (Dios Habla Hoy)
When we respect the rights and possessions of other people, then we gain their respect for us. [Photographer: The Nager Family. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
